White House Vegetable Garden

I mentioned in my last post that we got to see the White House vegetable garden from a far when we were there visiting. I thought I would share my few photos from it because it’s pretty and also kind of funny to me.

It’s hard to see exactly what they are growing in here, but this as close as I could get. I could make out things like corn, squash, and I think some herbs and maybe tomatoes? And I tried to remind myself that they have gardeners on staff, so it’s okay that my vegetable gardens over the years have never, ever looked this tidy.

But I did find it funny that my reaction to the garden was “This is what all the fuss was about?” On the huge expanse of the White House grounds, this takes up like 20 x 20′. Seriously? This was SO jarring and such a crazy, wild idea that the media needed to go nuts with news stories about it? I guess with how controversial it seemed at the time, I was expecting it to be this huge swath of garden taking up a big portion of the backyard. Turns out, not so much.

They had some signage nearby that explained the history of growing vegetables at the White House. It included in this 1867 plan of the grounds that showed Lincoln’s one acre garden just to the west of the house. Now an acre of vegetables… that’s definitely sizable. As America gets more used to the idea that it’s okay to trade in some lawn for a food-producing garden, perhaps the one at the White House can grow over time.

They also have bees! They are positioned pretty close to the vegetable patch. I don’t remember seeing any news stories about this, but maybe I missed it?

Now if we can get a huge fruit orchard in there for them to pollinate…

Isn’t it amazing how somethings get so distorted? You’d think she was lining the raised beds with bodies or something.

I think a lot of the uproar was about how Michelle Obama insisted it was an organic garden. Monsanto’s sales of “Round Up” (their number one seller; making up almost 49% of their profits) dropped 57% in the month following her announcement that she “felt it better for her family” to go organic.

Wow, with all the green grass (probably sprayed frequently for weeds) you think they could afford a little more space for the garden. Could even extend it to feeding some of the homeless in the neighbourhood…

I remember reading in the New York Times that the White House beekeeper has been at it for the last four or five years. The hives provide honey for the WH kitchen. The guy who does the beekeeping is one of the carpenters already on staff, for whom it was a hobby.

It is ironic, isn’t it, that because Mrs. Obama dares to speak up against Big Ag she’s made out to be some kind of freak. The previous First Lady had the same concerns, and the White House kitchen produce was sourced locally when possible and organically when practicable. They just didn’t talk about it in public, and Big Ag stayed happy.